Mexico first baseman Adrian Gonzalez celebrates with teammates after hitting a two run home run in the third inning against USA at Chase Field. / Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

The Game: Mexico crushed USA, 5-2, continuing Team USA's lackluster performances in WBC play. The Americans are now only 7-8 in the three WBC tournaments. They were abysmal in the clutch, going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and barely averted a rout when they escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning.

What it means: Team USA could be in real trouble. If Mexico beats Canada on Saturday afternoon, Team USA would have to beat Italy on Saturday night or be eliminated. It would be mean that the USA-Canada game on Sunday would be absolutely meaningless. Mexico certainly bounced back from their crushing defeat to Italy on Thursday, and considering Canada's 14-4 loss to Italy, must be considered heavy favorites to win Saturday afternoon.

The scene: The game may have been played in Phoenix, but Team Mexico was clearly the "home'' team in the zealous environment. There were 44,256 fans in attendance -- including a walk-up crowd of 8,500 -- and it sounded like 30,000 of the fans were cheering for Mexico. Most of the crowd was wearing green, white and red in honor of Mexico, and enthusiastically waving Mexican flags.

Fun fact: Man, was it an awful day for Canadian fans. They watched Team Canada get crushed earlier in the day, 14-4, to Italy, and then they had to watch Toronto Blue Jays ace R.A. Dickey get pummeled. Dickey gave up six hits and four earned runs in four innings.

What's next: Mexico plays Canada at 2:38 p.m., and USA plays Italy at 9:08 p.m. If Mexico wins the day game, all of the pressure will be on Team USA at night.